South East Group Hails Atiku’s Emergence As PDP’s Presidential Flag-Bearer

The Central Working Committee (CWC) of the South East Revival Group (SERG) has declared the emergence of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar as a good omen for the country at large and the south eastern Nigeria in particular.

While hailing the process that led to the outcome of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) convention in Rivers State, SERG in a statement signed by its national coordinator and CWC chairman, Chief Willy Ezugwu noted that “a strong signal has come from the PDP that it can get its acts together.

“For the first time in recent years, the PDP seems to have gotten it right by its choice of presidential Candidate, a man who believes in restructuring.

“The South East Revival Group, therefore, urges the candidate of the PDP to bring to the table his comprehensive plan for the south east development in line with his restructuring agenda.

“Beyond the promises of the past, which remained largely unfulfilled by the current governing party and the former ruling parties after the civil war in Nigeria, the PDP and its candidate must at this time present to the long neglected people of the old Eastern Region an implementable agenda for the region’s accelerated development.

“Since after the civil war, Nigeria’s successive leaders abandoned the Yakubu Gowon’s 3R programme of reconciliation, reconstruction and rehabilitation, a policy that would have totally healed the wounds of the past.

“This is such that after the 30-month hostilities, the eastern region and her economy have continued to be deliberately de-developed by the Nigerian government at the center.

“The effort to get the National Assembly erase the scars of the past by establishing, through an Act of Parliament, a South East Development Commission also failed under the current President Muhammadu Buhari administration.

“Nigeria, as a country, has continued to have divisive leaders, with little or no attention paid to the south east in terms of infrastructure development and formulation of deliberate policy to engender economic growth in the region.

“Rather, men and women of the region have continued to be mistreated in many ways because of where they come from to the extent that they were issued quit notice from the north.

“We cannot continue to roll out tanks to quell the agitations for a sense of belonging in the south east. It is true that some of the agitators are misguided but there is merit in the agitation itself.

“The Nigerian government, over the years, has been consciously throwing the baby away with the bath water and that saw the arrest and incarnation of Ralph Uwazuruike and lately the missing Nnamdi Kanu and other agitators.

“No matter how misguided any of the agitators for the development of south east may be, the truth remains that the region needs deliberate attention and it’s time for Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and PDP to show commitment to reconciliation, reconstruction and rehabilitation of our region “, the group stated.